Sampler



Nov. 23, 1965 EV S 3,218,867

SAMPLER Filed April 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 5.

INVENTOR. ELMER H. EVANS BY Wm ATTORNEY) Nov. 23, 1965 E. H. EVANS 3,218,867

SAMPLER v Filed April 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ELMER H EVANS BY WW'X 24 A ATTORNEYJ United States Patent 3,218,867 SAMPLER Elmer H. Evans, Alpena, Mich, assignor to Huron Portland (lenient Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of lS lichigan Filed Apr. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 276,405 4 Claims. (Cl. 73422) This invention relates to an apparatus for taking representative samples of material from flowing streams, and particularly for the taking of such samples from flowing streams of fluidized pulverulent material.

In application Serial No. 180,886, filed March 19, 1962, now patent No. 3,152,841, Oct. 13, 1964, in my name and in the name of Frank C. Starbuck, there is disclosed an apparatus for the taking of samples of pulverulent material flowing along a fluidizing gravity conveyor in which a sample collecting plow extends diagonally across the material-conveying duct of the conveyor. The plow intercepts and directs a portion of the flowing stream of material through a sampling port located in a side wall of the material-conveying duct, so that a sample of the material will be taken from substantially the entire width of the flowing stream of fluidized material.

In some instances, as for example where the pulverulent material which is being conveyed in a fluidized state is not of substantially uniform fineness, the flowing stream tends to stratify so that a sample of the flowing stream taken at any one level, or at substantially one level, of the material-conveying duct will not be truly representative of the entire stream of material flowing through the conveyor.

The present invention contemplates an apparatus for the taking of samples of material from flowing streams which is representative of the material throughout both its width and depth so that the sample is directly representative of the entire cross-section of the flowing stream.

More particularly, the present invention contemplates the use of a sample collecting plow extending diagonally across the material-conveying duct adjacent the conveying surface thereof for directing a collected sample of material to a sampling port in the side wall of the materialconveying duct, as in the aforesaid application, in combination with at least one and preferably several, plows extending in a generally vertical plane from the upper portion of the material-conveying duct downwardly in an inclined direction and terminating in front of the sample collecting plow which extends diagonally across the material-conveying duct. In such an arrangement, the downwardly-inclined plows will collect samples of material from substantially the entire depth and from spaced positions widthwise of the flowing stream and discharge them in front of the collecting plow which extends diagonally across the material-conveying duct, which in turn, will direct the samples collected by the inclined plows as well as the sample of the material flowing directly into it through a sampling port in the side wall of the material-conveying duct to a suitable collecting receptacle. Thus, even if there is stratification of the fluidized material flowing through the material-conveying duct, the collected sample will be truly representative of the entire cross-section of the body of material being conveyed.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of a fluidizing gravity conveyor embodying the sampling apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a portion of the conveyor of FIG. 1, taken on line 2-2 of F163;

Patented Nov. 23, 1965 ice FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a detailed sectional view through the sampling port showing the control valve therefor.

Referring to the drawings, the invention is embodied in a fluidizing gravity conveyor of the type set forth in the patent to H. R. Schemm, No. 2,527,455. The conveyor comprises a casing 1 having an upper inverted channel 2 and an underlying lower channel 3 which are bolted to each other at their edges with a gas-permeable deck 4 clamped therebetween. Preferably, the gas-permeable deck is a flexible fabric of uniform, low gas-permeability of the type disclosed in the aforementioned patent. With the gas-permeable deck 4, the upper and lower channels 2 and 3 form, respectively, an upper material-conveying duct 5 and an underlying air duct or plenum chamber 6.

The material-conveying duct 5 receives material at its upper or inlet end 7. The air duct or plenum chamber 6 receives a supply of air or other gas directly from a source of air under pressure or through its open end from an adjacent fluidizing conveyor section, or an aerating zone such as the fluidized outlet of a bin with which the sampler is associated. The air introduced into the air duct or plenum chamber 6 passes upwardly through the gas-permeable deck 4 into the overlying pulverulent material and fluidizes it. The fluidized material flows along the gas-permeable deck 4 to be discharged at the lower end 8 of the conveyor.

The channel 2 forming the material-conveying duct 5 comprises a top wall 11 and a pair of side walls 12 and 13. The side wall 12 has a sampling port 14 therein which communicates via a valve 15 and a pipe 16 with the sample receptacle 17 or other suitable means for receiving a sample of the material passing through the sampling port 14. Various forms or shapes of sampling ports may be utilized.

The valve 15 preferably is of the butterfly type, although, if desired, other types of valves may be used. Preferably, the valve should be self-locking, as by a latch lever 18, and should be located as close as possible to the sampling port 14 to minimize accumulation when the valve is closed. Also, the valve, when in open posi' tion, preferably is arranged to have its blade 19 in a scooping position with respect to the general direction of material flowing through the duct 5 and, as shown in FIG. 5, to extend slightly into the material-conveying duct 5 so that material flowing past it will be intercepted and caused to pass through the sampling port. \Vhen the valve is in its open position, the blade 19 thereof will have its surface generally aligned with the material flowing from a transversely-extending conveyor plow to be described.

Base plates 21 and 22 are bolted to the top wall 11 of the material-conveying duct 5. As shown in FIG. 3, these base plates extend diagonally crosswise of the conveyor and are spaced from one another longitudinally of the conveyor. Base plate 21 has three longitudinally and transversely spaced plow supports 21a, 21b and 210 welded or otherwise secured thereto at their upper ends. The plow supports 21a, 21b and 210, which are of different lengths, are vertically positioned and extend downwardly from the base plate 21 and have their lower ends adjacent to but spaced different distances from the gaspermeable deck 4. In like manner, base plates 22 has three longitudinally and transversely spaced plow supports 22a, 22b and 220 welded or otherwise secured thereto at their upper ends. The plow supports 22a, 22b and 220 are relatively short compared to the length of the plow supports 21a, 21b and 210, and also are of different lengths. They also extend downwardly from the base plate 22 and are aligned longitudinally with the plow supports 21a, 21b and 210, respectively. Both sets of plow supports 21a, 21b and 21c, and 22a, 22b and 22c are spaced equidistantly from the side walls 12 and 13 of the material-conveying duct and from one another.

Plows 23, 24 and 25 are welded or otherwise secured adjacent to their lower and upper ends, respectively, to the respective pairs of longitudinally aligned plow supports. The plows 23, 24 and 25 extend in a generally vertical plane and are of progressively greater lengths. The shortest plow 23 is secured adjacent its ends to the shortest plow supports 21a and 22a, respectively. The plow 24 of intermediate length is secured adjacent to its ends to the plow supports 21b and 22b, respectively, of intermediate length. The plow 25 of greatest length is secured adjacent its ends to the plow supports 21c and 220, respectively, of greatest length. The upper ends of the plows are located close to and substantially equidistant from the top wall 11 of the material-conveying duct 5, and at a level which normally is above the surface of material flowing through the duct 5.

With the plows 23, 24 and 25 attached to their respective plow supports as described above, they will be spaced substantially equidistant from the side walls of the maten'al-conveying duct 5 and from one another; will extend longitudinally of the material-conveying duct 5 in a downwardly and forwardly inclined direction with respect to the flow of material through the duct 5; will have their lower ends spaced at progressively different distances above the gas-permeable deck 4; and will be spaced progressively forwardly with respect to one another transversely of the duct 5.

The plows 23, 24 and 25 are of semi-cylindrical shape, with the concave face facing upstream with respect to the flow of material through the material-conveying duct. While plows of semi-cylindrical shape are preferred, plows of any other shape, as long as they have a concave face facing upstream, may be used.

A base plate 26 is bolted to the side Wall 13 of the material-conveying duct 5 and forms an anchoring means for vertically and longitudinally spaced plow supports 27 and 28 which have one of their ends welded or otherwise secured thereto. The plow supports 27 and 28 extend horizontally and transversely of the material-conveying duct 5. The support 27 is of substantial length and extends across the duct 5 or substantially threefourths of its width. The support 28 is relatively short, extending only about one-fourth the width of the duct 5.

A plow 29 is welded or otherwise secured adjacent its ends to the distal ends of the plow supports 27 and 28 and extends in a generally horizontal plane. Due to the fact that the plow support 28 is much shorter than the plow support 27, the plow 29 is caused to extend diagonally across the material-conveying duct 5, as shown in FIG. 3. Also, since the plow support 27 extends transversely of the duct 5 at a substantially higher elevation than the plow support 28, the plow 29 is inclined with respect to the plane of the gas-permeable deck 4. The inclination of the plow 29 with respect to the gas-permeable deck 4 is substantially equal to the relative inclination of the lower ends of the plows 23, 24 and 25 with respect to said deck, as can be noted from FIGS. 3 and 4.

The plow 29 is of generally semi-oval or semi-parabolical shape with the concave face facing upstream with respect to the flow of material through material-conveying duct 5. If desired, the plow could be of other than semi-oval or semi-parabolical shape as long as it presents a concave face facing upstream. The lower side 30 of the plow 29 extends forwardly, that is, upstream, farther than the upper side 31, since, as will hereinafter be described, it provides a conveying surface for sampled mat rial.

The plow 29 is positioned directly opposite and only 4 slightly downstream from the lower ends of the downwardly inclined plows 23, 24 and 25.

The ends of the plow 29 terminate short of the side walls 12 and 13 of the material-conveying duct 5, and the upper or downstream end of the plow 29 is at approximately the same horizontal level as the sampling port 14, but normally spaced slightly upstream therefrom.

As shown in FIG. 2, the base plate 26, which supports the plow 29, is provided with a longitudinally-extending slot 33 through which the holding bolts 34 pass. This slot arrangement enables the base plate 26 and the plow 29 carried thereby to be adjusted longitudinally of the material-conveying duct 5 to space the plow 29 a greater or lesser distance from the lower ends of the downwardly inclined plows 23, 24 and 25.

In operation, as the fluidized pulverulent material flows through the material-conveying duct 5, portions thereof will be intercepted by the plows 23, 24 and 25. These portions will be from transversely-spaced areas of the flowing stream of material and will extend for substantially the full depth of the flowing stream. The intercepted portions of material will be directed downwardly in an inclined direction by the plows 23, 24 and 25 and discharged from the lower end of the plows directly in front of the transversely-inclined plow 29. The flowing stream of material in the duct 5 will carry the sampled portions discharged from the lower ends of the plows 23, 24 and 25 into the trough of plow 29. These sampled portions, together with sampled material intercepted directly by the plow 29 will be caused to travel along the plow 29 in an upward direction to be discharged from the downstream end thereof back into the flowing stream adjacent the side wall 12 and slightly upstream from the sampling port 14. As the sampled material discharged from the downstream end of plow 29 begins its downward flow through the material-conveying duct 5, it substantially immediately is intercepted by the protruding portion of the blade 19 of valve 15 and diverted by it into the pipe 16 through which it passes to the sample receptacle 17, from which it can be removed for analysis.

The wider, forwardly-protruding lower side 30 of the plow 29 provides a surface along which the samples of material cut from the flowing stream in the materialconveying duct 5 flows toward the sampling port 14. As the sampled material is carried along the lower side 30 of the plow, any lumps of material in the flowing stream will roll off the free edge of the lower side and will not be discharged from the downstream end of the plow to flow into and possibly clog the sampling port 14 or the pipe 16. The upward inclination of the plow 29 provides a greater space between the downstream end portion of the plow and the gas-permeable deck 4 for the passage of lumps which may roll off the free lower edge of the plow.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction of the sampler described herein without departing from the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A sampler for flowing streams of material comprising a casing, through which material is adapted to flow, said casing including a wall and having a sampling port in said wall, a plurality of plows for intercepting and cutting from a stream of material flowing through the casing a sample thereof, said plows extending in a generally vertically plane, inclined downwardly in the direction of flow of material through the casing and spaced transversely and substantially equidistant from each other, and a diverting means comprising a plow extending in a generally horizontal plane transversely of said casing, the lower ends of the plows which extend in a generally vertical plane being positioned adjacent and upstream from the plow that extends in a generally horizontal plane and at substantially the same distance above the bottom of the casing as the plow which extends in a generally horizontal plane.

2. A sampler as defined in claim 1, in which the plow that extends in a generally horizontal plane is inclined upwardly in the direction of flow of material throguh the casing, and the lower ends of the plows that extend in a generally vertical plane are at difierent distances from the bottom of the casing and each is positioned adjacent and slightly upstream, in the direction of material through the casing, from the plow that extends in a generally horizontal plane and directly opposite a portion of the open trough of said latter plow.

3. A sampler as defined in claim 2, in which the plow that extends in a generally horizontal plane is adjustable longitudinally of said casing toward and away from the lower ends of the plows to extend in a generally vertical plane.

4. A sampler as defined in claim 2, in which the plow that extends in a generally horizontal plane is supported adjacent its ends by supports extending from a side Wall of the casing and said supports lie in different vertical planes and one support is positioned downstream, in the direction of flow of material through the casing, with respect to the other.

References Cited by the Examiner SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Examiner. 

1. A SAMPLER FOR FLOWING STREAMS OF MATERIAL COMPRISING A CASING, THROUGH WHICH MATERIAL IS ADAPTED TO FLOW, SAID CASING INCLUDING A WALL AND HAVING A SAMPLING PORT IN SAID WALL, A PLURALITY OF PLOWS FOR INTERCEPTING AND CUTTING FROM A STREAM OF MATERIAL FLOWING THROUGH THE CASING A SAMPLE THEREOF, SAID PLOWS EXTENDING IN A GENERALLY VERTICALLY PLANE, INCLINED DOWNWARDLY IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF MATERIAL THROUGH THE CASING AND SPACED TRANSVERSELY AND SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIDISTANT FROM EACH OTHER, AND A DIVERTING MEANS COMPRISING A PLOW EXTENDING IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE TRANSVERSELY OF SAID CASING, THE LOWER ENDS OF THE PLOWS WHICH EXTEND IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL PLANE BEING POSITIONED ADJACENT AND UPSTREAM FROM THE PLOW THAT EXTENDS IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AND AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DISTANCE ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE CASING AS THE PLOW WHICH EXTENDS IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE. 